Emerging viruses in Africa: Molecular identification and characterisation of rodent-, shrew-, and bat-borne hantaviruses and assessment of their public health potential

汉坦病毒属于布尼亚病毒科，是一种新出现的病毒，可引起两种危及生命的人畜共患病：肾综合征出血热和汉坦病毒心肺综合征。这些病毒从动物宿主传播给人类。我们之前的成就导致在啮齿动物、地鼠，特别是蝙蝠宿主中发现了汉坦病毒(Sangassou、Tanganya、Magboi、Makokou、Ponan和Lompole病毒)，并发现了人类感染和非洲发生汉坦病毒疾病的证据。在项目的最后阶段，来自非洲和德国的病毒学家、动物学家、流行病学家和医生组成的联盟将确定汉坦病毒和其他人畜共患病病毒在撒哈拉以南非洲不同国家的小型哺乳动物宿主中的生物多样性，特别是蝙蝠。将根据生态和气候特征调查这些动物宿主的地理分布和宿主种群内的病毒动态。动物抽样将扩大到到目前为止未得到充分代表的生物群。将尝试对新发现的病毒进行分子特征描述。将分析细胞培养分离株的生物学和遗传特性，以评估它们与人类健康的相关性，并推断汉坦病毒在其自然宿主中的分子进化。目前开发的涵盖所有汉坦病毒种群的特定诊断方法将用于识别人类感染新的非洲汉坦病毒。在不同的非洲国家，我们将实施汉坦病毒病的临床病例定义，并在区域医院建立诊断工具，就像几内亚目前所做的那样。此外，还将建立以哨所医院不明原因发热患者的血清学评估为基础的汉坦病毒感染监测系统。这一持续的努力将导致在非洲实验室进行汉坦病毒和其他新出现病毒的诊断和特征鉴定的能力建设，并发展控制人畜共患感染的病毒诊断和公共卫生专门知识。年轻的非洲科学家将接受动物学实地研究、包括系统发育学在内的分子生物学和医学病毒学方面的培训。

Hantaviruses, members of the family Bunyaviridae, are emerging viruses causing two life-threatening human zoonoses; hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome. The viruses are transmitted from animal reservoirs to humans.Our previous achievements led to the discovery of hantaviruses in rodent, shrew, and, particularly, bat reservoirs (Sangassou, Tanganya, Magboi, Makokou, Ponan, and Lompole virus) and to the evidence for human infections and occurrence of hantavirus disease in Africa.In the concluding project period, a consortium of virologists, zoologists, epidemiologists, and physicians from Africa and Germany will determine the biodiversity of hantaviruses and further zoonotic viruses in small mammalian reservoirs, particularly bats, in different Sub-Saharan African countries. Both the geographical distribution of these animal reservoirs according to ecological and climatic characteristics and the virus dynamics within the host population will be investigated. The animal sampling will be extended to those biomes that are so far under-represented. Attempts will be made to molecularly characterise newfound viruses. Biological and genetic properties of cell culture isolates will be analysed in order to assess their relevance for human health and to infer molecular evolution of hantaviruses in their natural hosts. Currently developed specific diagnostic approaches covering all hantavirus phylogroups will be used to identify human infections by the new African hantaviruses.In different African countries, we will implement the clinical case definition of hantavirus disease and set up diagnostic tools in regional hospitals, as currently done in Guinea. Moreover, a surveillance system for hantavirus infections based on serological evaluation of patients with fever of unknown origin from sentinel hospitals will be established. This continued effort will result in capacity building for the diagnosis and characterisation of hantaviruses and other emerging viruses in African laboratories and in the development of virus-diagnostic and public health expertise for the control of zoonotic infections. Young African scientist will be trained in zoological field studies, molecular biology including phylogenetics, and medical virology.